Resources

Did you know that a brick is the simplest composite product? A composite material is made from other materials with differing properties that are not mixed together but combined so they instill certain properties in the final structure. Observe objects made with composite materials, study the way they are made and learn about the "sandwich" method which increases stability and resilience in the product.

Did you know that a brick is the simplest composite product? A composite material is made from other materials with differing properties that are not mixed together but combined so they instill certain properties in the final structure. Observe objects made with composite materials, study the way they are made and learn about the "sandwich" method which increases stability and resilience in the product.

Did you know that a brick is the simplest composite product? A composite material is made from other materials with differing properties that are not mixed together but combined so they instill certain properties in the final structure. Observe objects made with composite materials, study the way they are made and learn about the "sandwich" method which increases stability and resilience in the product.

In the seventies, windsurfing ushered in a new era in popular sports with an accent on speed and thrilling sensations. By the eighties technical innovations in the making of sailboards enabled experienced windsurfers to hit ever higher records of speed: the boards were lighter and more stable, the fabric used for sails more modern. There has been considerable progress in equipment development in recent years, catering in particular to different practices of windsurfing from a leisure activity to a competitive sport.

In the seventies, windsurfing ushered in a new era in popular sports with an accent on speed and thrilling sensations. By the eighties technical innovations in the making of sailboards enabled experienced windsurfers to hit ever higher records of speed: the boards were lighter and more stable, the fabric used for sails more modern. There has been considerable progress in equipment development in recent years, catering in particular to different practices of windsurfing from a leisure activity to a competitive sport.

Do you know why there are so many different types of flooring? Walk on the surfaces and feel the different sensations of each surface. By experimenting with six different floors, this display aims to familiarise participants with contact materials of varying elasticity and absorbency.

What are the various categories of windsurfing boards? What types of sails are used in windsurfing boards? Learn about these and more through an enjoyable, interactive process: an audiovisual game. The aim of the exhibit is to allow visitors to understand that even for a windsurfing board, the selection of materials and the shape of its parts depend entirely on the way it will be used.

What are the various categories of windsurfing boards? What types of sails are used in windsurfing boards? Learn about these and more through an enjoyable, interactive process: an audiovisual game. The aim of the exhibit is to allow visitors to understand that even for a windsurfing board, the selection of materials and the shape of its parts depend entirely on the way it will be used.

Materials do not all react with water in the same way. Some of them have the capacity to absorb water and are called hydrophilic. In contrast, water drops have the tendency to slide off the surface of others which are called hydrophobic. Turn on the water supply in each apparatus and observe the drops of water on the materials. What do you observe?

Study the anatomy of a windsurfing board and take a virtual interactive ride on one. The aim of the exhibit is to present the impressive application of new materials. Like a type of electronic game, you can take a ride on a windsurfing board in a virtual reality environment.

Sight is a good means of identifying a material. If we were deprived of it, could we still recognize wood, marble or metal? We can discover by touching a material whether it has properties of elasticity and cushioning, or whether it is hot or cold, but when two surfaces are similar, touch does not necessarily suffice to tell them apart.

Matter exists in three different states in nature: solid, liquid and gas. These states are due to the constant movement of the particles, atoms or molecules, that make up matter, and to the stronger or weaker attraction between these particles. In a gas, particles move freely and attract each other very weakly. They are a long way apart. Gas fills all available space. In a liquid, the particles attract each other much more and even touch, but still move. In a solid, the particles attract each other strongly and move very little.

Diamond, graphite, nanotube and fullerene have the same basic chemical nature but their crystalline arrangements of carbon differ greatly. This gives the materials certain physical properties with undeniable industrial applications. Graphite has an atomic structure that consists of layers of hexagons easily separated from each other (application: pencil lead). Diamond has a structure made up of tetrahedrons and its atoms are connected by powerful bonds that make it the strongest of materials (application: cutting tools).

It is possible to channel light along a given path using optical fibre, a filament made up of a transparent dielectric substance (glass or plastic) that guides light waves. Optical fibres are increasingly used as communication tools because they can conduct light and therefore information very quickly over very long distances.

Transparent materials are visible because they refract light. The movement of light from one material to another is governed by very precise rules. Refraction is the deflection of a ray of light when it changes from one medium to another. This deflection depends on the index of refraction of the medium crossed. When the index of a transparent object is identical to that of the medium surrounding it, the light rays are not deflected and the object is “invisible”.